Plans to build Akon City, a futuristic metropolis envisioned by R&B star Akon on Senegal’s Atlantic coast, have been officially abandoned.
According to BBC, the project was first unveiled in 2018 and pitched as a $6 billion “real-life Wakanda,” complete with futuristic skyscrapers, luxury hotels, a hospital, a university, a solar power plant, and its own cryptocurrency, Akoin.
The ambitious development aimed to generate high-tech jobs and revitalize local communities in the Mbodiène region, about 100 km south of Dakar.
Construction began with much fanfare in September 2020, marked by a ceremonial laying of the foundation stone by Akon himself, an event captured on a dusty field surrounded by grazing goats.
Promises flowed from both the artist and Senegal’s tourism agency, SAPCO: infrastructure would be completed by 2023, with phase one to include roads, a hospital, a mall, a school, a police station, and a solar plant.
But despite the early optimism, progress stalled. Observers noted that the site remained largely untouched, featuring barren fields, roaming cattle, and only a partially built visitor centre.
By mid-2024, SAPCO threatened to repossess 90 percent of the allocated land due to the lack of development.
Further compounding the delays was the failure of Akoin.
Launched in 2020, the cryptocurrency’s value plummeted from about $0.15 to mere pennies within months.
Akon took “full responsibility,” admitting the currency wasn’t being managed properly.
On July 4, 2025, SAPCO head Serigne Mamadou Mboup confirmed to the BBC: “The Akon City project no longer exists.”
However, he noted that Akon and the Senegalese government now intend to pursue a more realistic development plan.
With Senegal set to host the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the strategic coastal land remains valuable.
Though the dream of a “Wakanda-like” city has faded, a more grounded, scaled-down project could still bring the long-promised benefits of jobs, tourism, and infrastructure to Mbodiène.